Why does little red dot on WeChat always attract you to open it?

Experts pointed out that when algorithms, psychology and brain science try to occupy people's attention, we should increase the examination of artificial intelligence values and the study of artificial intelligence ethics.

Everyone has had the experience of answering a message or making a phone call by opening a mobile phone. Seeing little red dot at the top right of the WeChat icon, I can't help but open WeChat first; After reading WeChat, I was unconsciously dragged by another App until I turned off the screen of my mobile phone, only to find that I forgot the original intention of turning on my mobile phone.

You think this is forgetfulness? Don't! The algorithm behind every App of smart phone is not only manipulated by experts in the field of artificial intelligence, but also "carefully designed" by experts in psychology and brain science, which makes you unconsciously "fall into it".

The game between super artificial intelligence and human beings is an eternal theme in science fiction works. Now, this game may have been embedded in people's daily life.

Nowadays, more and more scholars are beginning to discuss a topic: When the algorithm is more and more closely integrated with psychology, brain science and other sciences related to human cognition, will the algorithm dominate our lives? Will humans become "slaves" of algorithms?

Although experts in different disciplines have different views on this, they all reach a point: learning to get along with machines correctly is the survival skill of everyone living in the intelligent age, and its importance is self-evident.

People's attention is becoming the object of "careful design"

In fact, turning on the phone, clicking on the App or sliding the thumb is not only a habit of many people, but also a muscle memory and even an instinct. And behind this, is there also an "invisible hand" in control?

"The development of artificial intelligence makes the addictive behavior brought by machines more and more common." Li Weidong, executive director of the Institute of Psychology and Behavioral Science of Shanghai Jiaotong University, said that unlike drug addiction which will bring irreversible changes to the level of brain cells, the way in which addiction to electronic products or social software affects the brain mechanism is still unclear. But what is certain is that with the development of algorithms and artificial intelligence, this kind of "addiction" is more likely and has a wider influence.

You know, before the advent of the Internet era, all human inventions were based on the active use of human beings, so that a new invention can serve human beings. But nowadays, technology is trying to attract people's attention all the time, and even hopes to "manipulate" people's thoughts and profit from them. Social Dilemma mentioned that "all products are for profit, but when these products are free, then you are a product."

For internet companies, people's attention is becoming the object of "careful design"-the growth of users, the extension of users' use time, and even the manipulation of users' ideas can bring more profits. Users are products that can grow independently.

Indeed, many people find that information push is not only more and more accurate, but also many pushes are calculated by algorithms based on personal preferences. Sometimes, these tweets are not based on facts, mixed with extreme or even wrong opinions, just to cater to users. As personal preferences continue to strengthen in these tweets, the world that everyone "sees" based on these tweets is also different.

In the encirclement of the algorithm, people will become more and more anxious and fragile?

When the algorithm is more and more accurate in predicting human hobbies and behaviors, more and more adults or minors may become more and more anxious and vulnerable in the "encirclement" of this algorithm that integrates psychology and brain science. Learning to get along with machines should be the ability that everyone must reserve for the future.

"There is interaction between people and any technology or machine. It may be that people control the machine or that people are controlled by the machine. " Zhang Zheng, a professor at nyu shanghai, has always believed that technology is neutral, just like when using a search engine, every time you search for a word, the first 10 result pushed to your home page must be carefully customized according to your habits and preferences, so that you can like this search result and continue to use this search engine. "On the bright side, this design is to enhance user stickiness; In the worst case, it can be understood that it is easier to' manipulate' you by strengthening your preferences. "

Not long ago, three scholars from the Psychological Science Research Center of Zhejiang University and the Department of Psychology jointly published an article, suggesting that "human -AI interaction" must be taken as a new research field, and sketched a specific research framework, advocating interdisciplinary cooperation, with the goal of ensuring that artificial intelligence benefits mankind.

Several scholars have said that the improper development of artificial intelligence technology has led to many accidents that hurt human beings. More than 65,438+0,000 accidents have been recorded in the "AI accident database" recognized by academic circles, such as self-driving cars killing pedestrians, and trading algorithm errors have caused the market to "crash". It is not too early to consider the values of artificial intelligence, and its necessity and urgency are increasingly prominent.

Zhang Junping, a computer professor at Fudan University, also believes that technology itself has its own development logic, but when technology is more and more closely integrated with psychology and brain science, it is really necessary to strengthen the research on the interaction between people and technology and treat technology more objectively and cautiously.